Trigger mechanism for firearms.



Patented-Aug. l, |899. A. E. LAnn. TRIGGER MECHANISM F03 FIREAHMS(Application tiled Apr. l. 1898.)

No Model.)

Ei nF...-

' barrels is accomplished by successive movev barrel at a time isprevented, and in the matinvention, the lock-plate, together with oneviewtaken through 'the barrels'on line 2 2 "of the lock-plates with thelock or striking .mechanism thereon. section taken on line 4 4.- of Fig.1.4 Fig. 5 is .anism opposite to that illustrated in said Fig.

UNITE STATES? infranti Fries.'

lALLAN E. LARI), OF ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI.

TRIGGER MECHANISM FOR FIREARlVIS.

v smimr'ztr'rc'ilv forming part of Letters Patentino. 630,061, datedAugust 1, 189e.

Application filed-April 1, 1898. Serial No. 676,091. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern.;

Be it known that I, ALLAN E. LARD, of St. Joseph, in the county ofBuchanan and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Firearms; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and. to the letters of reference marked thereon,'which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in tiring mechanism for firearms,and more particularly to tiring mechanisms of that class more commonlyused in shot-guns having a plurality of barrels and in which a singletrigger is employed and the firing ot the several xnentsnoiihesingletrigger...

The invention consists in an improved mechanism for discharging aplurality of barrels of a firearm, and particularly a shotgun, by meansof a single trigger of animproved device, Whereby the `discharge of morethan one ters hereinafter described, and pointed out 'in the appendedclaims.

The invention is herein shown in connec` tion with a shotgun providedwith three shotbarrels and locks or firing mechanisms embracing threehammers, together with means for actuating the same by successive pullsupon the trigger. The invention may, however, be applied to firearms ofother kinds and to those having two or more than three barrels.

In theaccompanying drawings, illustrating. my invention, Figure 1 is aView in side elevation of a breech mechanism embodying my of the hammersauditsactuating-spring carried by saidplate, being removed, so as toshow the main operative parts of the firing mechanism in side elevation.Fig. 2 is a sectional of Fig. l. Fig. 3 isa view in elevation of onelFig. 4 is a detail plan a view similar 15o/Fig. l,showing the parts inchanged position. Fig. 6 isa view similar to Fig. 1, showing that sideof the firing mech- -controls the movement of the I'iril g-plate.

Fig. 1l is a detail view showing a second trigger which may be used forfiring the third barrel independently of the others.

The firearm in the accompanying drawings is a shotgun of the kind knownas breechloading,7 or one in which the barrels are pivotally connectedwith the breech-frame at a point forward ofthe rear ends of the barrelsand where the rear ends of the barrels are Nthrown upwardlyaheve theYbrechi`ramefcr the insertion ot 'the cartridges. The breech mechanismillustrated is, moreover, ot' that class known as hammerless, or one inwhich the retraction or cooking of the hammers is accomplished by theact of breaking the gun through suitable connections between a partattachedto the swinging barrels and the.said hammers.

-As shown inthe said drawings, A indicates the body or wooden portion ofthe gun-stock; B, the breeclrframe; C, the barrels, which are pivoted tothe front end of the breechframe, and D the fore end,7 which isdetachably connected with -the barrels beneath the same in the usualnia-nner. l

E indicates the top snap-lever, by which the locking-detent for holdingthe barrels in place is actuated.

F F indicate the lock-plates, upon which the locks or strikingmechanisms belonging to the two main orupper barrels are mounted, and Gis the trigger-plato, which carries the trigger and upon which in theparticular instance illustrated the main parts of the mech anismembodying my invention are mounted.` Said trigger-plate is attached atits forward end to the breech-f rame B by means of a screw g and at itsrear end is connected with the' -rearward extension or tang B' of thebreechframe by means of bolts g' g2, whichalso serve to attach the stockto said frame.

The locks for the main or upper barrels are- Y mounted on thelock-plates F and are shown as consisting each of the usual hammer orIOO tumbler F', mainspring F2, scar F3, and searspring F4. Asupporting-plate F5, attached to each lock-plate, forms a support forthe inner end of the hammer-pivot. The lock for the lower or centralbarrel is mounted in the breech-frame B beneath the tang and consists 0fa hammer H, which is mountedon a pivotpin h, from which said hammerdepends a mainspring H', which is attached to the nnder surface of thetang, a sear H2, and a scarspring H3, the said sear and scar-springbeing mounted in a depending arm B2, forming part of the tang at therear of the main part or body of the breech-frame B.

Means for setting or cooking the several hammers is provided as follows:I I are two cooking-levers which arel mounted in recesses in thebreech-frame B, at either side of the same, inside of the forward endsof the lockplates F, said levers being mounted on pivotstuds t'. Theforward ends of the said cocking-levers extend into recesses d, formedinv the met-al part D' of the fore end D. Said forward ends of theoockinglevers are so shaped and'arranged as to bear upon the upper wallsof said :recesses d, whereby when the muzzles of the barrels are throwndownwardly said forward ends-ot' the cooking-levers will be depressed.At their rear ends the cooking-levers extend rearwardly to pointsadjacent to and engage forwardly-projecting lever-armsf of the hammersF', the cookinglevers acting on the under surface of the said arms, soas to lift or force the same upwardly, and thereby throw backwardly thehammers in the usual manner. For the purpose of 1retracting or cookingthe central hammer H one of the cooking-levers is provided at its rearend with an offset extension l2, which extends at the inner side of andpast the hammer F' and is adapted et its rear end for engagement witha'link l, which is pivoted at its upper end to the hammer and is adaptedfor engagement at its lower end with the` said extension l2 of thecooking-lever. For-the purpose of guiding the link 13 guide-pins 15' t'are located in position to engage opposite sides of said link, saidguide-pins being attached, as herein shown, to the supportingplate F5 ofthe adjacent lock.

Now referring to the firing mechanism by which-the several sears F3,Fig-and lfliare actuated l'or releasing the hammers the saine is made asfollows: J indicates the trigger,4 whlcli'gis mounted on a pivotj in thetriggerplate l in the usual manner. Said trigger Yis extended upwardlyVin the lock-case in. the form oie' atrigger-arm J'. Kindicates amovable part or plate which is also pivoted to the trigger-plate andwhich is preferably mounted on the same pivot 7' by which the trigger issupported. Said plate constitutes a medium by which the ,motion-of thetrigger is transmitted to theseveral sears, and prconvenience the samewill be herein called the firing-plate. Said tiring-plate extendsrearwardlyand ,upwardly from the pivot]` and is swung or moved by asuitable connection with the trigger in such manner that its rearendffrises audits upper part; moves forwardly. Actuating engagement ofsaid plate with the rsears'F3 'F3 issecured by means of twolaterally-projecting lugs l.: 7.3' on said plate K, which lugs areadaptedfor engagement with the inwardly-bent rear extremities j" of thesaid scars and are provided with adjustingscrews 7o* h5,- which come indirect contact with the sears. Similarly, actuating connec tion of theplate with the scar 112 is formed by means of a forward projection orstud 7c?, which is located in position for contact with the dependingend of the said Sear H2. The screws k h5 on the lugs 7c r.' and the lugk2 are not arranged for simultaneous engagement with the'several sears,but are so constrncted as to come successively in contact with the sameas the plate is swung or moved on its pivot by the action of thetrigger, the intent being that the sears shall be'successively moved andthe barrels successively fired by a progressive or step-by-step movementof the said firing-plate. The said dringplate is moved or swung on itspivot when the trigger is pulled bakwardly by means of a stop orshoulder on the firing-plate, which is located in position forengagement with a part of or upon the trigger, the stop or, projectionherein shown having the formbi` a stop-pin 76B, which is located nearthe upper edge of the tiring-plate in position to engage the front edgeof the trigger-arm J'. Said trigger-arm isnot always in cont-actwith thestud 7a3, but stands slightly at the rear thereof, so as to afford asmall degree of independent -motion between the trigger and-thefiringplate' when the trigger is drawn or pulled rearwardly, suchindependent motion giving the trigger a short preparatory movementbefore the firing-plate is engaged and moved thereby. forward. limit ofits movement'byvmeans of a suitably-applied trigger-enviogheeih shownasy consisting of a leaf-'spring j?. which is attached to thetriggeiwplaterin advance of the trigger and bears at its rear free endupwardly Against a forwardly-projecting army" on the triggtlarm J'.ing-plate is a movable detent L, adapted for. engagement with teethorshoulders m m',

which are located or' formed upon a statonv U15 Pl't-effothe breechtrams s'herein shown, the 'detent L projects at the rear of thetiring-plate K, and the teeth m m are 1ocated onl a bar or bolt M, whichis att-ached at' its lower. end tothe rearfpart of the trign ger-plate.The upper end of the bolt abuts lThe trigger is held normally at theMounted on the fir- I the tang, thereby holding the trigger-plate andthe tang always the same distance apart when the bolts g' g aretightened. The detent L is actuated from the trigger through the mediumof a lever connection or equivav lent mechanism, as herein shown, givingto the detent a much greater amplitude of movement than that of thetrigger itseli",and which is so arranged as to advance the said detent4L into position for engagement with one of the teeth m during thepreliminary movement fof the trigger J, which takes place before thestop-pin k3 on 'the firing-plate is engaged by the triggenarm and thetiring-plate is thereby bodily moved. In the particularconstruction-illustrated the detent L has the -form ot a sliding bar inthe firing-plate, and motion is. transmitted thereto from thetrigger-arm 1*. Jfby means of a lever N and a link N',by

said leverNis connected with the upof said lever N will produce aconsiderable extent of movementof the lower arm of said lever N and thedetent which is attached thereto. In the firing mechanism from which theaccompanying. drawings were made a back-y Ward movement of the triggeroi` about one thirty-second of an inch producesa movement in the saiddetent of about one-eighth of an inch. If desired; the movement of thetrigger with respect to that of the detent may be l ,much less than thatstated, and by properly proportioning tho parts practica-l results maybe obtained by a movement of the trigger of 3S only one three-hundredthspart of an inch. The said detent- L,'together with the teethm Am',constitute an escape or stop mechanism bywhich the movement of' thefiring-plate is made intermittent instead of continuous and ictfyarrested after the release of each hammer,'

' slight forward movement of the trigger un- 4 .der the action of itsspring owiugto the couby which the movement of the said plate is therebypreventing the tiring of more than one barrel at a time, the release ofthe said detent from the teeth engaged by it after each barrel has beenred being permitted bya relaxation of the pressure upon and a Very",nections described between the deten-t and trigger, by which anexceedingly slight movement iof the trigger produces a much greatermovement of 'the detent. lhe said detentL is held normally at one limitof its movement f by a suitably-applied spring Ni, herein shown ashaving the form of a coiled spring, attached at one end to ythefiring-plate and at'its oppoi posite end to the lever N, below the pivotof the lat-ter, and tending to draw the detent L inwardly. inasmuch asthe stud ks cannot come in contact with the trigger-arm except when thedetent-lever N 'is thrown rearward against the action of said spring N2,the presence of said, spring N2 insures that the firingplate will beheld in position with the stud 7c3 away from the trigger-arm and thedatent re tracted during the upward movement-of lthe firing-plate, untilthe latter comes in' contact with one of the sears, at which time theresistance of the sear-sprin g will arrest the movement of thefiring-plate until the detent has 7o been thrown rearwardly or into itsholding position, after which the further movement of the firing-platewill @dect the release of the sear. Immediately after such release thedetent will strike vthe tooth-m or m and prevent 7 5 further movement ofthe firing-plate until the trigger has been allowed to-move slightlyfor.- ward, when the rearward movement of the A trigger-arm with respectto the firing-plate under the action of said spring Ni'will pro- 8o ducebackward movement' of the detent sufticient to clearthe tooth engaged byit and permit further forward movement of the ring-plateI under asubsequent',- pull upon the trigger. It the trigger be allowed to swing85 fully forward after firing the first barrel, the tiring-plate (in theabsence of the means hereinafter described to prevent backward movementof the firing-plate) will return to 4its original or lowermost position;but this will 9o not affect the action of the detent, because uponpulling the trigger asecond time the plate will be moved with thetrigger-arm and without any rearward movement of the detent untitthelatter has passed the irst tooth m- 95 and the firing-plate hasA engagedthe second Sear, when the resistance of the second sear, by arrestingthe movement of the plate, will prod uce through the yielding of thespring N2 relative movement of the triggorarm and firzoo ing-plate, withthe result of throwing the` detent outward into position to engage thesecond tooth lm. Said spring N2 therefore, by holding the detent-lever Nat the rearward limit of its movement, serves also to hold the ,105firing-plate from rearward movement with respect to the trigger-armduring the movement of the iring-plate until the firing-plate comes incontactwith and is arrested by one of the sears, whereupon the pull onthe trigger over.- 1 xo comes the force ot the spring N2, throws thedetent outwardly into position to engage the. tooth, and then moves thesoar until the lock controlled thereby has beenY released, after whichthe detent strikes the tooth m or m'- I i 5 and. holds the plate fromfurther movement.v

inasmuch as the firing of .the several bar-' y rels is accomplished by aprogressive move-` ment.' of the firing-plate, it is desirable that thesaid plate and trigger should be held from izo backward m nvement aftereach barrelis fired, and for this purpose I haye'provideda der. tent soarranged as toengage and holdjhe firing-plate after the ring of eachbarrel. Said detent is shown as having the form 'of a x2 5 stepped barO, pivoted at its lowerend to the trigger-plate and-provided atit'supper-end with two shoulders, oo', said b'ar-A being located insuoli psitiori-.that the shoulders may f erigagethelower surfaceof thelug lo on one, ,1395

sideof the'ifiring-plate." The said detent isf; f

actuated by the spring O-, so arranged as to throwv its Supper. or freeend ,tgwardthevsaid' or lovtermost position, the said detent, at a pointbelow the lowermost step o', bears` against the lug 1c, and the saidsteps or notches are so disposed with respect to the 'teeth fm 'm' thatwhen the firing-plate is swunlgr upwardly, so as to bring the detentagainst the rst tooth m, thelug will be engaged by the first step andwhen said detent is brought against the second tooth in' the lug will beengaged by the second step o. course be understood that the detent O islocated in the position described and arranged to act upon the lug 7amerely as a matter of convenience and that a similarly-acting detent maybe arranged in other positions to operate upon orin connection with thefiringplate.

v The operation of the firing mechanism above described may be betterunderstood from the following: When the parts are in their normalposition, as seen in Fig. 1, the

Iof the parts shown in full lines in Fig. 5. A I

tooth fm.

lower end of the firing-plate will rest' against the trigger-plate, andthe trigger will be held by the trigger-spring at the forward limit ofits movement and with the trigger-arm J slightly at the rear of thestop-pin 7c3 on the firing-plate. At this time the scar belonging to thelock 'which yis to be first released will be in contact with the lug 7c.The pressure required to operate thedetent L against the action ot itsholding-spring N2 being much less than the pressure required to move thesearLthe first movement which takes place will be the throwing out ofthe said detent into positiony to engage the first or lowermost By thetime the said `detent'has reached or made contact with said tooth, asseen in dotted lines in Fig. v5, the hammer of the lock rst to beactuated will have been released and Vthe stepped detent O will fallinto position to hold the firing-plate from backward movement. This isthe position release of the pressure upon the trigger' will resultin'tlie retraction of the detent mainly through the action' of thetrigger-actuating spring, which by throwing the trigger forwardv whilethe tiring-plate is held from back-` ward movement will move thetrigger-arm backwardly with respect to the firing-plate, and therebyretract the detent. This movement of the detent will be aided ,by thedetent-spring N2.A As soon as this slight forward movement ofYthe-trigger takesplaee theldetent willbe free from the toot-h m, and thering-plate will be free to rise when pressure is again applied thereto bthe action of the trigger, as seen in said Fig. 5. As soon as pressureis again applied to the trigger the firing-plate will be advanced. untilthe lng lo thereon strikes the sear othe lock that is next to be fired,when the detent will be advanced into position to engage the secondtooth m', as. shown in dotted lines in Fig.' 6. The partsa're soarranged that the firing-plate will move a. short distance after itsrelease by the retraction of the detent be- It will ofV fore it strikesthe next sear, this movement be carried past or above the tooth lastengaged by it before it is advanced to engage' the next or succeedingtooth. Such movement of the firing-plate with the trigger betore thedetent is advanced is insured by 'the detent-spring N2, which holds thering-plate and trigger from relative movement and prevents advance ofthe detent until the plate strikes the sear of the lock which is next tobe fired and through the resistance of the scar-spring is retarded until'the trigger-arm vanced, after which the firing-plate moves with thetrigger until the second lock has been tired, after which its motion isagain arrested by the contact of the detent with the second tooth on'.By the time this second tooth has been struck by the detent the secondlock Will'have been released,and the forward movement of thetiring-plate will be arrested by Contact of the detent with said secondtooth. lhe stepped orholding detent will the same 'time engage thefiring-plate, so as 'to prevent backward movement ot the saine, and uponrelease of the pressure upon` the trigger the detent will be retractedby the action oi the trigger-spring and detent-spring, and the partswill then be in readiness for the release ot' the third lock and thetiring of the third barrel. This is the position shown in full linesinFig. 6. 'lhe scar H2 et the lock belonging to the 'third barrel will beactuated by ressure of the tiring-plate ther-een, seen inzig. 7, nospecial stop mechanism beine' rcquired in this instance, as the ii. havereached the upward limit of its nievement when the firing of the thirdbarrel is accomplished. It is to be noted that when the iiringplate isin position for the actuation ot' el r one ot' the sears said platerests against a backstop formed in the lirst instan-se by thetrigger-plate itself and in the other by the stepped detent described ndtha hen the said firing-plate thus re ffm-.inst its back-stop thepressure ot the igge spring holds. the trigger-arm J'. a short distanceaway Afrom the stop-pin or stud 7a3. lt will also be noted that when thetrigger is pulled in firing the second and moves the tiring-plate a thelatter vstrikes the seat' of is next to be released, 'there the detentshall more 'past ti gaged by it before being The scar-spring is soinnen. detent-spring N2 or the pr more the sear is so much gratte: thanthat required to nieve the detent that as the firing-pireL the senr thetr' the i plate, such movement et the said arm respect to the plateserving to move or. aetnate the detent'L, and thereby bring the sameinto position for engagement with one of tire being necessary in orderthat the detentshall ieg-plate i, iii

strikes the lug los and the detentiias been ad-V barrels it 5 otherwords, inasmuch as the tiring-plate is free to move except whenrestrained by the engagement of the detent L with Aone of the stop-teeththe detent-spring would hold the said detentfrom movement with respectto 1o the plate and said plate would move with'the trigger were it notfor the engagement of the plate wit-h the sears and the fact that thescar-springs are much stronger than the said Y'detent-spring, so that assoon as one of the 1 5 lugs on the tiring-plate comes in contact withits corresponding sear movement ot' the firingplate is temporarilyarrested until the trigger has been moved the short distance necessaryfor bringing the trigger-arm against the 2o stop-pin k3 and for throwingthe stop-detent outwardly into position to engage one of the stop-teeth.After such preliminarymovement f the trigger and the actuation of thedetent, however, the tiring-plate moves with z the trigger as the sameis pulled backward, and thereby eects the lifting or actuation I of thatone of the sears which is at the time engaged by or is in contact withthe tiringplate. It will of course be understood that 3o the contact ofthe sear with the tiring-plate,

or, in other words, the resistance of the searspring to the movement ofthe plate, is necessary in order to hold the plate from movement whilethe detent is being actuatedLit sistance to the movement of the platethe -latter would be moved or shifted by the action of the triggerwithout any movement of the detent itself, the detent-spring tending 4oto hold the detent in its retracted position.

The scar-spring being very much stronger than the detent-spring, and asconsiderable pressure is required to draw the seat' out of engagementwith the notch of the tumbler in u which it is held by the pressure ofthelmainspring, much greater pressure' is required to move the searandrelease the hammer than is needed to move the detent, so that thepressure ot' the sear against the firing-plate will 5oalways hold saidplate from movement until the holding-detent has been advancedagainstthe action' of the detent-spring, after which ythe plate will bebodily moved and the scar thereby actuated torelease the hammer. It

will also be noted that the trigger-spring acts to retract the detent Land would, in connection withthe detent (l, be suliicient for thispurpose it' t-he detent-spring were omitied,it beingtcbvionsthat thepressure ofthe triggero spring does not come directly7 upon thetiringplate, but is conveyed thereto through the medium of thetrigger-arm, the lever N, and link N', so that when the firing-plate isresting against one ofthe back-stops, formed by the trigger-plate, orone 0i' the two shoulders onf the stepped detent O the trigger-arm willbe pressed backwardly and the detent carried inwardly by the trigger-spri n g,and such backward or rearward movement of the triggere armwith respect to the plate will be limited by the contact ot the saidlever N on the detent with a surface or shoulder on the plate whichforms a back-stop to limit the retraction et said detent. In theinstance illustrated the said lever N strikes a pin la when the detentis at the li mit of its retracting movement, so that said pin forms sucha back-stop.

It will be further observed that inasmuch as the trigger-spring anddetent-spring actin the same direction upon the detent and both tend toWithdraw the detent from engagement with the teeth on the frame whenthe' firingplate is resting against its back-stop the said detent-spring is not in all cases required, but may be dispensed with,provided the detent is so constructed that it will automatically riseabove the tooth m o'r m' after its withdrawal therefrom in order that itmay not again engage the same tooth in its subsequent ad- Vance.

In Fig. 10 I have shown a modification of the construction abovedescribed wherein a detent-spring N3 is used, which spring is appliedbetween the firing-plate and lever N in such manner as to hold the loweror free end of said lever and the detent extended instead of retracted,and the detent is made vertically movable at its outer end and held atthe upper limit of its movement by a lifting-spring l. When the saidspring is thus appliedlrittends to hold the'detentL in its extendedposition, making itabsolutelyi'mp'ossible to tire more than one barrelat a time, and in such case said spring is preferably a Weak one and ot'very much less strength than the trigger-spring. 'I/he action of themechanism in this latter instance is generally the same as that beforedescribed, the only dierence being that in the one before described thedetent-spring tends to aid the trigger- ICO IIO

spring in retracting the detent, while in the modified construction thedetent-spring acts agaigfstthe trigger-spring arid the former is madspring will operate positively and certainly to withdraw the detent fromengagement with that one of the teeth nt or m/ with which it may at thetime 'be engaged. In the latter construction the detent lifting-spri gyields downwardly and permits a slight d pression of the detent'when thelatter strikes the tooth m or m' in the upward movement of thefiringplate, so that as soon as the detent is retracted by the action ofthe trigger-spring upon the release of the trigger said detent willbelifted above the tooth andin its subsequent advance will pass overthesame. When the detentis made to yield or move in the manner shown insaid Fig. l0, no actuating-spring for either advancing or retracting itis absolutely necessary, but the use of an advancing-spring is preferredfor the reason that it holds the detent normally in a positive engagingposition.

Instead of the stepped detent O, arranged relatively weak, so that thetriggerto act upon the firing '[piate, a similarly-acting detent may bea'piplied to operate upon the trigger or trigger-arm, in which case boththe trigger and the firing-plate will be held from backward movementafter each sear has been actuated by the engagement of such detent withthe trigger. When the detent is thus arranged, however, the presence ofthe detent-spring N2 becomes important, inasmuch as said spring by itstension on the 1ever N tends to keep said lever at the rearward limit ofits movement and prevents the tiringplate from falling by gravity, so asto bring the stop-piu las against the trigger-arm, with the result ofpreventing the proper actuation of the detent by the trigger.

For the purpose of releasing the stepped detent-O from the firing-plate,and thus permitting the said plate and the triggcrjo return to theiroriginal or starting point preparatory to firing a new charge or set ccharges, provision is made for automatically moving said detent eachtimeY the breech is opened for loading. trated for,'the purposementioned consists of a sliding trip-bar l), which rests above the`trigger-plate and is at its forward end attached to an arm c on the rodE', which is attached to and moved by the snap-lever E and through themedium of which is actuated the locking-bolt, by which the barrels arelocked or held in operative position. The said trip-bar P is shown asprovided at its rear end with an elevated arm p, adapted for contactwith the forward surface ofthe detcnt O when said trip-rod is thrownbaekwardly through the actuation of the snap-lever.

I have shown in the drawings a safety-catch consisting of a lever Q,pivoted to the tang B and adapted at its lower end for engagement with astop-pin q on the rear part of the firing-plate, the upper end of saidlever Q bcing engaged with a slide rl, mounted on the outer surface ofthe tang. When said slide is moved forward, so as to bring the lower endof the stop-lever above and to the rear of the stop-pin q, thetiring-plate will be free to move and the gun can be discharged. i A

'A firing mechanism embodying the principal features hereinbeforedescribed may be constructed for a doublc-barreled gun lwithout the useof any detent such as has been desc-ribed for forming a back-stop forthe firing-plate. Assuming the breech-frame to have but one stop-toothfm, as will be the case in a double-barrele'l gun, and the holdingdetentto be omitted, it is obvious that after the first barrel has been firedand the movement of the dringt-plate arrested by the action of thedetent upon the stop-tooth the firingplate will return. to its originalposition in contact with the trigger-plate. Upon a second actuationofthe trigger no movement of the locking-detent will take place untilthe iringplate encou'nters and is arrested by the second Sear; but-assoon as said firing-plate (or the lug thereon) strikes said second scarThe device herein illus' the second barrel will be red inthe same mannerthat the third barrel is fired in .the

,construction illustrated. The disadvantage arising? from the omissionof the stepped detent or its equivalent is that considerable for wardmovement of the triggerwill occur after' firing the rst barrel beforethe firing-plate comes in contact with the back-stopor trig ger-plateand acorresponding advance movement ci the tiring-plate before it comesin contact Y ii the second Sear; but at the same time the amount of suchmotion need not he vso great to be objectionable, for in quick action,where both barrels are fired in rapid succession, the trigger andYfiring-plate need ,not be allowed to return to their original positionafter the firing of the first barrel; but if the trigger be quicklyreleased and again pressed it will, upon relaxation of the pressurethereon, move forward under the action of the detent-spring,` N2 a shortdistance only to effect 'the retraction of the said detent and thepassage of the same past the said .tooth for. the ringof the secondbarrel, and the latter may be fired by a second pull without moving thefinger far enough or giving vsuceut space for the return of thetrigger-'to its starting-point. In otherwords,if the firing-plate needsto travel one-eighth of an inch to fire the first barrel the triggermust travel baekward one-eighth of an inch (the distance from.

pivot of trigger and firing-plate to trigger and firing-lug beingpractically equal) before it would be in position to fire the secondbarrel, provided the iin ger were entirely removed from the triggerafter tiring the first barrel; but, as before stated, iu rapid shootingit is not necessary to remove the finger from the trigger, and insteadof allowing 'che trigger to travel forward one-eighth of au inch afterfiring the first barrel itis only necessaryto allow it to advance onethree-hundredths of an inch before again pulling it for firing thesecond barrel.

in Fig. l] I have shown a construction in which a second trigger R isapplied in position to actuate the scar belonging to the third barrel.Such second trigger is shown as pivoted on the pivot-pinj of the maintrigger J and as extending rearwardly, so as to be out of the way of thesaid main trigger. t is also shown as provided with an arm, r, whichextends upwardly to the safety stoplever Q in position to be engaged bysaid stop-lever when the latter lis thrown into its operative position,Said second trigger will not usually be needed, but may sometimes befound useful when it is desired to fire the third barrel withoutfiringthe first and second ones, and especially whenthe third barrelis"choke bored to a greater extent than the other barrels for closeshooting at long distances and it may be desired to use the said thirdbarrel alone for that reason.

It has been proposed heretofore to employ as a means of iiring severalbarrels with one trigger a pivoted ratchet-plate, which acts llostruction has the disadvantage that a full ad-KVA vance movement of thetrigger is required after each pull in order that the pawl which ismoved by the trigger may engage a succeeding tooth on the ratchet-plate,and if the user shall fail to release the trigger in such manner as topermit such full forward movement thereof the ratchet-plate in thesubsequent pull will not be moved by the subseqnentpul'ad the gun willfail to fire. One important advantage of my improved construction overthe prior one referred to is that an almost imperceptible forwardmovement of the trigger is required after* each pull thereon to preparethe parts for the tiring of the next barrel, so that it requires only arclaxation of pressure upon the trigger between each backward pullthereon to tire the several barrels in succession. Thus in theconstruction illustrated, in which the detent has a Amovement four timesas great as that of the trigger, if the detent be arranged to overlapthe teeth on the breech-frame to an extent ot one thirty-second of aninch it will be clearly seen that after firing one barrel the triggerneed be relieved and allowed to move forward only about one one hundredand twenty eighth of an inch in order to withdraw it from engagementwith the teeth', and after this slight forward movement of the triggerthe la'tercan" be again instantly pulled to lire the next barrel.Moreover, if the parts are proportioned so that a movement of thetrigger of one three-hundredth part of an inch only is required forreleasing the detent the action of the device would be almost the sameas though the trigger had no forward or release movement. Whensuchasmall extent of forward movement in the trigger is required forreleasing the detent, it the pressure on the trigger be relaxed afterfiring it becomes impossible to throw ihe detent'into engagement withthe same tooth twice in succession or in two successive pullsg upon thetrigger, it being obvious that ,the slight movement referred to is solimited as tobe imper-Y ceptible, and the release of the detent isaccomplished by merely relaxing the pressure upon the trigger. Theconstruction described constitutes a very ,important improvement overthe construction embracing a single trigger with a ratchet-platehereinbefore referred to, for the reason that such construction willrequire at least one-eighth of an inch .backward movement of the triggerfor firing each barrel and the same amount of forward or releasingmovement before a succeeding barrel can be fired, `and in rapid firingthe necessary extent of forward movement in the trigger may ofte'n failto take place, in'which case the gun will not be discharged upon thepulling of the trigger.

I claim as m'y inventionv l 1. The combination with a pluralityoflocksQrstriking mechanisms, ota tiring mechanism embraciuga single trigger-,atiring-plate which moves with butl has a limited movement relatively tothe trigger and which acts successively on the several locks and meansacting to arrest. or interrupt the movement of the liring-plate andtrigger after the actuation of one lock and operating through therelative movement ofthe trigger and tiring-plate to re-4 lease ,the saidfiring-plate preparatory tothe actuation of another lock.-

:2. The com bination with a pluralityof locks or striking mechanisms, ofa single trigger, a Firing-plate which moves with, but has a limitedmovement relatively to, the trigger, and which acts successively on theseveral locks and a detent which controls the movement of theliring-plate, said detent being actua-ted by the trigger during itsmovementrelatively to the firing-plate and being connected with the saidtrigger byoperative connections giving a greater amplitude of movementinthe said detent than in the trigger.

3. The combination with a plurality of locks or striking mechanisms, ofa trigger, a firingplate which is operatedby the trigger and actssuccessivel yon the several locks to release the` same, said triggerhavinga limited movement with respect to the iiring-plate and va detentwhich controls the movement of the firingplate, said detent beingconnected with the. trigger by connections affording movemen tof` thedetent into position to release the tiringplatc and permit furthermovement thereot'` after a lock is actuated bythe firing-plate.

4:. 'lhecombination withapluralityotiocks or striking mechanisms, ot' atrigger, a liringplate which is operated bythe trigger and actssuccessively upon the locks to release the 'struck by a part attachedtothe trigger during the rearward movement of the latter anda ICO detentwhich controls the movement of. the firing-plate and which is connectedwith the 4or striking mechanisms, of a trigger, a tiringplateconstructed to act snccessivelyupnn theA said locks to release the sainesaid iringplate being actuated by the trigger, a detenjtmeeru vating tocontrol the movement of the tiring plate and operative connections.between the said detent and the trigger emhracinga lever by which thedetent is given a greater ampliftnde of movement than the trigger. v

b'. The combination with a piu 'calin-y clloe'ss or striking mechanisms,ot' a plate which is actuated by t o rig ively non the several locks torelease ent which is-actuated by the -nrrols the advance movement of thetiring-pla`v and a second detent operating to hold said Vtiring-platefrom rearward movement.

7. The com binatiou with a plurality of locks or striking mechanisms, ofa trigger, a firingplate which is actuated by the trigger and actssuccessively upon the several. locks to release the s ne, a detent whichis actuated by the trig and controls the advance movement of tue plate,connections between the detent and trigger giving a greater extent ofmovement in the detent than in the trigger, and afosecomfi' detentoperating to hold said tiringfolate from rearward movement.

S. "l ne t mbination with a plurality oflocks or strilti r n'iechanisms,of a trigger, afiringplate wt ch is actuated bythe trigger' and actssuccessively upon the several locks to release the same, a detent whichhas operative connections with the trigger and controls the advanceiovement of the plate and a: second detent fcratingto hold saidfiring-plate from rearvs movement and means for retracting sain ,secondor holding deteut after the locks 'ha een released.

9. The con. nation withapluralityofloclis or striking n anisms, of atrigger, a firingplate which actuated by the trigger and acts succe yupon the several locks to release the i me, a detent whichfcontrols theadvance movement of the plate, operative ,connections between the saiddetent and trigger, giving a greater extent of movement in the detectthan in the trigger, a second de- `tent operating to hold saidfiring-plate from backward. movement and means for retract-I ing saidsecond or holding detent after the locks have been released.

l0. A breech-loading firearm comprising a plurality of locks or strikingmechanisms, a trigger, a firing-plate which is actuated by the `triggerand acts successively on the locks to release the same, a detent whichis operated by the trigger and controls the advance movement of thefiring-plate, a spring-actuated detent which acts to hold thefiring-plate from rearward movement and a trip mechanism for releasingsaid second detent, having operative connection with part which is movedduring the performance of the acts required for loading the arm. y

l1, The combination with a plurality of locks provided 1with hammers,sears, and searsprings, of trigger, a firing-plate provided with lugs orcontactfsurfaces located in position forsucccssive action upon thesevcrzjtly sears and a detent which is connected with the trigger andwhich arrests the movement of the tiring-plate after the same has encountered and moved each of the scars.'

l2. The combination with a plurality otl` locks or firing mechanisms, ofa. trigger, a -ring-plate which is actuated by the trigger and isconstructed to act successively upon the several locks to release thcsame, a detent mounted on the tiring-plate and adapted for engagementwith a holding tooth or teeth upon the breech-frame and operativeconnections between the said detent and the trigger.

l. The combination with a plurality of locks or tiring mechanisms,of atrigger,a firingplate which is actuated by the trigger and isconstructed to act successively upon the several locks to release thesame, a detent mounted on the tiring-plate and adapted for engagementwith a holding tooth or teeth upon the breech-frame and operativeconnections between the said detent and the trigger producing a greaterextent of movement in the detcnt than in the trigger.

li. The combination with a plurality of locks or striking mechanisms, ofa trigger, a firing-plate which is actuated by the trigger and isconstructed to act successively upon the several locks to release thesame, said trigger having a limited movement with respcct to thctiring-plate, a dctent mounted on the {iring-plateand constructed toengage a holding tooth or teeth upon the breech-frame and operativeconnections, between the said del'ent and the trigger, mounted on thesaid liring-plate and embracing a lever having arms of unequal lengthand giving a greater extent of movement inthe detent tha-nin thetrigger. f

l5. The combination with a plurality of locks or striking mechanisms, ofa trigger, a firing-plate which is actuated by the trigger and isconstructed to act successively upon the several locks, said triggerbeing provided with a rigid trigger-arm and the firing-plate with a stopor shoulder which is vnormally free from contact with said trigger-arm,a detent mounted on thc firing-plate and adapted for engagement with aholding tooth or teeth upon the breech-frame and means for actuatingsaid dctent embracing a lever pivoted upon the fi ring-plate andconnected by a link with'the said trigger-arm, said lever beingarraiiged to give to the deteut a movement greater than that of thetrigger.

16. The combination with a plurality of locks or striking mechanisms, ofa trigger, a

firing-plate which is actuated by the trigger and acts successively uponthe several locks to release the same, said trigger having a limitedmovement with respect to the tiringplate, a fle-tent mounted on thefiring-plate adapted for engagement with a tooth or teeth uponv thebreech-frame to control the advance movement of the tiring-plate underthe action of the trigger, operative connections between the said dctentand the trigger giving to the detent a motion greater than that of thetrigger, and a second springactuated detent acting on the firing-plateto hold the same from rearward movement.

17. The combination with a plurality of locks or striking mechanisms, ofa trigger, a

uov

firing-plate which is actuated by the trigger and acts successively onthe several locks to release the same, said firing-plate being pivotedconcentrically with the trigger and the trigger having a limitedmovement with respect to the said tiring-plate, a detent mounted on thetiring-plate and adapted for engagement with a tooth or teeth upon thebreechframe and operative connections between the trigger and saiddetent operating to give a greater movement in the detent than in thetrigger and comprising a trigger-arm, a lever pivoted upon thefiring-plate and a link conneeting the lever with t-he trigger-arm;

18. The combination with a plurality of locks or striking mechanisms, ofa trigger, a trigger-spring tending to hold said trigger at the forwardlimit of its movement, a Afiringplate provided with a contact-shoulderwhich stands normally free from the trigger but which is encounteredbythe trigger after the same has been moved a short distance, and adetcnt which is operated by the trigger and operates to interrupt theadvance movement of the firing-plate after the release of each hammer.

19. The combination with a plurality of locks or striking mechanisms, ofa trigger, a

trigger-spring tending to hold said trigger atthe forward limit of itsmovement, a tiringplate provided with a contact-shoulder which standsnormally free vfrom the trigger but which is encountered by the triggerafter the same has been moved a short distance, a detent whichinterrupts the advance movement of the firing-plate after the release ofeach hammer, operative connections between said detent and the triggeraiording a greater extent of movement in the detent than in the triggerand a second spring-actuated detcnt acting to hold the iring-plate fromrearward movement after the release of each lock.

20. A breech-loading firearm having three barrels and in which thebarrels are hinged to the breech-frame said firearm being provided witha plurality ol" loe-ks or striking mechanisms each having a hammer, amainspring for actuating the same and a Sear and in one of which thehammer is constructed to strike downwardly and forwardly7 of means forcocliing each of the hammers embracing two levers mounted on thebreech-frame and engaged at their forward ends with a part which isattached to and moves with the barrels, one ot said levers beingprovi/lod i1 h a rearward extension for retracting the downwardly andforwardly striking hammer.

2l. A breech-loading iirearm having three barrels and in which thebarrels are hinged to the breech-frame said firearm being provided witha plurality of locks or striking mechanisms each having a hammer, amainspring for actuating the same and a sear, and in one of which thehammer is constructed to strike downwardly and forwardly, of means forcooking each ot the hammers embracing two levers mounted on thebreech-frame and engaged at their forward ends with a part which isattached to-and moves with the barrels, one of said levers beingprovided with a rearward extension for reti-acting the downwardly andforwardly striking hammer and the latter hannn'er being provided with apiv oted link, one end of which is located in position for engagementwith the said rearward extension of the said cooking-lever.

22. The combination with a plurality of locks or striking mechanisms, atrigger, a iiring-plate which moves with the trigger but which has alimited movement relatively thereto and which acts successively on theseveral locks to release the same, a detent which is actuated by thetrigger in its movement relatively to the firing-plate and operates toarrest the advance movement of the firing-plate after the release ofeach lock and a movable safety-stop adapted for engagement with the saidfiringplate to hold the same from backward movement.

23. The combination with a plurality of locks or striking mechanisms, ofa trigger, a firing-plate which is moved by the trigger, and actssuccessively on the several locks, and a detcnt which controls themovement o1` the firing-plate, said detent being actuated by the triggerand being connected wit-l1 the same by operative connections giving agreater amplitude of movement in said do tent than in the trigger, and asecond trigger' which acts upon one o1' said locks independently of thetiring-plaie 4and first-named trigger.

ln testimony that l claim thc foregoing as my invention l allx mysignature, in presence of t\\'o'witncssos, this 17th lay of March, l l)AISGS.

.'\ LLAN ll. LAR i l.

IOO

